First Nepalese-Buddhist Temple In US Consecrated

The first Nepalese Buddhist temple in the United States has been consecrated in Portland, Oregon recently.

Of the 2,000 Buddhist temples and centers in the country, this is the first one devoted to a form of Buddhism practiced in Nepal. Kathmandu native Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya and American-born Helen Appell, along with two Nepalese priests traveling from Kathmandu, jointly inaugurated the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara.

Though local building and city codes required some design alterations, use of woodcarving, coloration and symbolic elements made it as close as a traditional Newar temple.